U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes lost a total of 1,953 hours or 82 ship days due to inadequate icebreaking.
82 days is about a third of the shipping season.
The Great Lakes Soo Locks close on January 15th.
It took 96 hours after the Soo locks opened for the year for the first vessel loaded with iron ore to finally clear the St. Marys River, the critical connection point between Lake Superior and the lower lakes.
At one point 19 vessels were stopped for multiple days in the ice, waiting for icebreakers to clear the way to either get their loads or deliver them.
The company ships for manufacturing needs impacting beyond the Great Lakes region.
The ice season dragged on well into April stretching Coast Guard icebreaking crews and their worn-out ships.
The only U.S. Coast Guard heavy icebreaker on the lakes is the CGC MACKINAW and she was limited to operating below the Soo Locks due to an engineering casualty.
Where the MACKINAW was really needed was in the heavy snow-covered ice in Whitefish Bay at the southeast end of Lake Superior.
With only one partially operational heavy icebreaker, traffic came to a standstill for most of March with significant delays experienced well into April.
On several occasions during the ice season, federal icebreakers suffered significant engineering problems which left them unable to help.
The 140-foot Coast Guard icebreaking tugs, are over 45-years-old and continue to breakdown on a regular basis.
They are in need of another U.S. Coast Guard heavy Great Lakes icebreaker.
Warmer temperatures on the southern lakes in March melted the significant ice pack on Lake Erie and the Detroit-St Clair River systems allowing the Coast Guard to focus limited operational assets in the north.
“This is a national problem that requires America’s attention,” said Jim Weakley, President of the Lake Carriers’ Association.